26 Chapter 26: Falling Leaves

It was a lovely morning, the hot summer sun had just woken from its nightly slumber, its gaze had yet to pierce the lingering cold of the night. Men and women had all left their homes, some going for work, others to meet friends. The blistering heat of the high sun was still a few hours away and everyone took advantage of this by roaming the streets of the villages, shuttling about, finishing their tasks and meeting up with friends and lovers for a quick chat and a snack.

Among the many places in Konoha where friends would meet and lovers would walk arm in arm, the Konoha zoo ranked around the middle. This ranking was not because of it's poor environment or lack of attractions, instead it was because of it's mundanity. If you've seen it a few times then you start to lose interest unless there is a new exotic animal on display. Not to mention that the place had rules against loud noises and bringing food from the outside.

The young tended to enjoy the company of friends then animals, they liked to be loud and mess around with each other. The Peaceful environment was not to their taste. This is not to say that no one visited the Konoha zoo. The large zoo that housed more than 500 different animal species was frequently visited by families and couples that liked to enjoy nature.

During the current summer vacations where children were on holidays and parents needed a breather, the Zoo was bustling with families that wanted to enjoy a peaceful day looking at the exotic animals and some nice and peaceful walk around the shaded paths of the Zoo.

Among the many going in and out from the gates of this facility, a girl wearing white and red clothes was standing near the gate with a slight blush on her face and expectant glances at every passing person. Yukia had arrived here 10 minutes earlier, having stopped by a public restroom to wash away most of the makeup, all except the light pink lipstick that her mother had put in her hand bag in case she needed to freshen it up. Having told herself that the lipstick was too difficult to wash off and that no one would probably notice it.

"Yukia? You are way too early." She froze up for a second before looking up, Shin was dressed in his usual black clothes with red highlights. "O-oh, I just arrived early… because… of the tickets! They might sell out!" The boy nodded, "Alright, still there is still an hour left you know." Yukia's heartbeat hastened as she tried to think up an excuse but suddenly stopped as she realized something, "Shin, why are you here so early?" Shin scratched his head in embarrassment as he replied, "Well, I have nothing to do at home so I thought I'd look around, it's been a while since I've been here so there might be new animals."

The two bought the tickets and went inside, Shin showing her around and introducing every animal that Yukia found new. Shin had even bought some apples and carrots to feed the animals and gave them to Yukia. The girl's face bloomed everytime an animal let her pet them and was startled by a few as they tried to bite her hand after the food ran out. Shin just laughed at her "Eeeep"s and laughed even after Yukia pouted at him for laughing at her.

After a while, the pair finally arrived at the red panda enclosure. There in the middle of numerous bamboo shoots, a small fluffy red panda was sitting, eating leaves. Yukia saw the red panda and her eyes shined, "Wow, they are so cute! Why have I never seen them before?" Hearing her question, Shin knowledgeably replied, "They are not from here, I believe they were given as a gift some time ago. I think these are all the red pandas on this continent."

Yukia nodded as she turned to watch, as the red panda was eating leaves, another one appeared and pushed him. The previous panda tumbled but quickly got up and stood on his hind legs, raising his arms and making angry noises at the other panda who did the same. "Hahaha, see they look just like you!" Shin started to laugh as Yukia looked at him with annoyance, "How do they look like me?" "They are so small and cute yet they try to look threatening, which only makes them look even cuter!"

Yukia heaved for air, trying to cool down her overheating body as she stuttered to speak, "W-what do you mean!?" Shin flicked the tomato's forehead while smiling, "Not what you are thinking, let go." Shin started to walk and Yukia followed behind him while her hands held her aching forehead but she somehow couldn't feel any sort of pain from it.

The pair walked for a bit before they came across another pair and all 4 of them halted. "Sensei!? What are you doing here?" Yukia and Shin spoke while the two adults looked at them in surprise, "We wanted to take a walk. What are you two doing here?" Haruki asked them and Shin replied, "Looking at red pandas. Anyways, shouldn't you be resting, Fujio sensei?" Shin asked the woman with Haruki who was sporting a very big belly.

The woman seemed both annoyed and amused, "I was feeling suffocated. Nevermind that, since when did you get yourself a girlfriend?" "She's not my girlfriend." Shin replied along with a stuttering tomato, "I-I a-hm no-not his girl…girl…" or at least tried to.

The four chatted for a bit, Shin asking about Fujio and the baby's health before they separated. "Well, see you later Shin. You two enjoy your date!" Haruki sensei bid them farewell as they both replied in unison, "This is not a date!"

The two started to walk again but there was an awkwardness that Shin tried to get rid of by suggesting that they have something to eat. Yukia readily agreed but the two had only taken a few steps when Pineapple jumped onto Shin's shoulders with a "Meow!" "Pineapple? What are you doing here?" Shin asked to which the cat replied "Meow T~T"

......

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Atsuki heard the rhythmic beeps and labored breaths. He sat on a chair that was placed beside a bed. His eyes were closed, he refused to open them, his face down as he wished to hide it from the world. His hands cupped another's, caressing them gently as he wished he could strout two more to block out the incessant *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

*Rustle*

He opened his eyes as he heard the movement,a hand appeared from underneath the white cotton sheets as they moved upwards, removing the oxygen mask. The breath seemed to falter as did Atsuki's heart as he grabbed the other hand as well, "What are you doing, the doctor put that on." The boy tried to put the mask back on but Ryouka's hands gripped his tighter as she looked at him with a smile. Atsuki could easily free his hands but for some reason, all his strength seemed to fade away as he looked back at the woman.

Ryouka smiled and caressed his face, "I'm sorry Atsuki." Atsuki gently cupped the hand on his face and asked, "About what?" The woman smiled and replied, "For not being honest about my health. For lying to you. For making you eat my horrible food!" She chuckled as Atsuki followed suit as she continued, "For pretending to not hear all the times you accidentally called me "Mom". For not telling you how happy it made me whenever you did. For not thanking you for taking care of me and Shin. For not hugging you whenever you came home, for not being there for you. I'm sorry I didn't bring you home sooner."

Tears dripped from the woman's face as the boy sobbed while trying to hold back the bursting dams that threatened to drown him. "I'm sorry for not telling you how much I loved your holiday celebrations. I'm sorry.." her voice broke as she cupped his face between her hands, "I'm sorry for not thanking you for being my son."

The dam broke and the boy fell into her embrace, "Mom… Mom!" the boy that had not cried out in nearly 5 years, once more called out to his mother, it was a relation not born of blood but of care and love. Once more after 5 long years of being dragged towards love and affections, fate had decided to wring out his heart once more.

The mother and son stayed in the embrace for what felt like hours, the son crying out all his complaints and his mother gently listening to his sobs and caressing his hair. *Cough* *Cough* *Cough* The two separated, reminded of their brewing sorrow by a gut wrenching cough as Atsuki grabbed water and tissue but Ryouka stopped him, grabbing him by his arms and said, "Atsuki, would you promise me something?" the woman continued as the boy hurriedly nodded. "Take care of Shin, I know he seems mature on the outside but inside, he is just a child. You have to take care of him. I know that as long as you're there, Shin would not fall." She wiped his tears as she continued with a smile, "Whenever you two went on a mission together, I wasn't worried because I knew that you two would protect each other no matter what. So please keep protecting him. Promise me Atsuki, that you two would never let eachother go." The boy nodded as his heart bled at every word, "I promise."

*Thuk*

The door flew open and Atsuki looked at Shin. Atsuki would have thought that he had just been through a battle but had no wounds. "Mom!" Shin ran towards them and looked at Ryouka with such utter confusion that he might not even recognise his own name. "W-what? What happened?" he stuttered. Ryouka extended her hand towards him and he immediately grabbed it.

The woman smiled, "Shin, thank you for being born my son. I'm sorry that I have to leave you so soon, I wanted to see you get married, I wanted to spoil my grandchildren and nag at my daughter-in-law but…" Shin started to break as he held her hand to his face, "Mom.." Ryouka looked at Shin and then at Atsuki, smiling as she started to close her eyes, "If you'd like it, I want to be your mother again in my next life. Next time, let's live together again with Otou-san and grandpa and grandma… ah, she's gonna yell at me for coming too soon…"

*Beep*

......

It was the hot Konoha summer, when most people stayed indoors, avoiding the blistering heat of the high sun, or hiding beneath the shaded trees littered around the village, providing respite to the people and animals that wandered the streets of the village. However, today was not one such day, today was the summer festival and nearly the entire village was full of activity, children dragging their parents from stall to stall, friends teasing and chasing each other through the many attractions of the festival, lovers passing curious glances and lovely whispers.

But unlike any other vibrant and lively places in Konoha, there was one that remained silent. This place held marble tiles, stone made into monuments and memorials; this place was the Konoha graveyard.

Distant cheers and laughter of the Konoha blew through this silent place of memories, carried by the shifting north winds as they chased the summer heat. Yet in this place, only silence reigned supreme, its subjects unfazed by the curious sights and exotic dances, unseduced by the allures of happiness and joys of life, for the only thing that they held in their eyes was the memories of the past.

In this silent kingdom, muffled steps rang out like the drums, signifying the coming of an inevitable confrontation. The steps halted, a distance away from their destination. "Atsuki…" a voice sounded, addressing a young boy in black garbs who he sat in front of a marble tablet, one of many that this place housed. The boy stood up after hearing his name, turning away from the one who had called him and walking away.

"When are you coming home?" the same voice inquired, Atsuki could hear the silent plea held within those words as his steps slowed but never halted.

Shin sighed, he watched his friend, no… his brother as he walked away. Soon the silence had returned to this place, taking its supreme position above the stone monuments and inside the hearts of all that dared step into its domain. The only thing that could break its iron grip on its denizen's souls was the rustling leaves. Dancing on their branches, dancing in the winds that gently plucked them from their homes and carried them away, luring them with the sweet promises of adventure and new worlds to explore. Shuttling them from place to place before casting them aside with despicable ease.